Pensilva Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), staff have changed the arrival and collection procedures and parents no longer enter the pre-school. However, staff welcome them and the children warmly, so children feel secure and arrive happily. Children eagerly seek out staff and their friends to talk to and quickly settle with an activity. Staff provide an attractive play area that offers children a wide range of stimulating activities and toys to choose from. They have high expectations for children and provide good support. Children concentrate well and develop a positive attitude to learning.

Children behave extremely well and are exceptionally confident. For example, they offer to make up a story and proudly act it out in front of the staff and other children. They remind staff to give them praise when they follow staff's instructions and enthusiastically show off their dance moves to their friends. Children have high levels of resilience and determination to complete tasks for themselves. For instance, two-year-old children turn down offers of help and persevere as they try to open food packages until they succeed.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The manager has a clear vision for the curriculum and involves the staff team in the planning and organisation of the pre-school. They work well together to take responsibility for developing the different areas. On occasion, staff do not recognise when to challenge the older children further in order to extend their learning as effectively as possible.
• Staff have completed training about how to use stories to target children's communication and language and personal, social and emotional development. Children really enjoy the new story sessions, which have had a significantly positive impact on their confidence and well-being.
• Staff know the children very well and form close relationships with them. They play and talk with children, which helps children to feel valued. Staff make good use of lunchtimes as a social occasion, giving children their full attention and showing interest in what they think and say. Children learn from staff how to be friendly, calm, polite and respectful of others.
• Children behave superbly, develop exceptional social skills and are aware of how the people around them might be feeling. All children, including the two-year-old children, learn to recognise and manage their feelings expertly and to understand the impact their actions may have on others. They talk calmly and clearly about how they feel and confidently suggest how to help others feel happier. For example, children kindly offer to play with other children when they notice they are alone and give hugs to cheer people up.
• Staff assess children accurately and understand how children learn and develop.
• For example, staff focus on supporting children's control and coordination in their hand movements before helping them to write. Staff plan realistic targets for children's learning and use their interests to engage them in activities. All children make good progress in preparation for later learning, including starting school.
• Staff model language effectively during their discussions with children and teach them new words to extend their vocabulary. For example, children remind others what 'glad' means and talk about colours that 'match'.
• Staff provide good support for children's health and hygiene. They remind children to drink throughout the day and stay in the shade when it is hot. Children benefit from lots of opportunities to exercise and be physically active to develop their strength and balance. The manager has plans to introduce activities that teach children about the importance of oral health.
• The manager and staff have a secure understanding of how to support children who may require additional help and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They consider children's individual needs when planning how to spend additional funding to target any gaps in learning promptly and successfully.
• Staff work with parents effectively to promote children's learning at home. For example, they offer parents books to take home to read with their children. However, staff do not form close partnerships with all other settings attended by the children in order to enable consistency in their care and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more challenge to extend the older children's learning further and help them make as much progress as possible.
• form close links with all other settings that are attended by children to provide consistency in their experiences.